Will gold shine in 2014?

Gold bulls have been tempted out of hiding by bullion's strong start to the year, but the basis for optimism looks unsteady and largely hostage to what happens in China and India.

The World Gold Council (WGC), which represents producers, is unsurprisingly upbeat, with Marcus Grubb, the managing director for investment, saying 2014 is going to be "much better" for gold investment and returns will be positive.

Notwithstanding that the council's job is to portray gold in a positive light, it's worth looking at why it thinks this is the case.